Page 144 of A Taste of Bliss

I reach out and take the pendant from his outstretched fingers.

“Yes.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

BLISS

“This place gives me the creeps,”Reese says, staring over at the small cemetery to the right of the church. I didn’t notice it the first time we came here, but today the tombstones stand out in the brighter sunlight.

Amelia, Liz, and I all look at Reese, giving my best friend a once-over. She’s dressed all in black, a lacy black dress, black tights, black boots, and a black leather jacket. Her lips are painted a dark blood red, and she’s smoked out her shadow and liner. Amelia, who is dressed similarly, smirks at Reese. “Really? I think we fit in very nicely here. These two—” she motions to my aunt and I, “—are the sore thumbs.”

Liz scoffs. “As the only one here who’s actually dealt with ghosts, I take offense.”

“What?” Reese breathes out. “Ghosts aren’t real.”

Liz raises her brows at my friend and smiles, shaking her head softly like she’s amused at our disbelief. “If that’s what you need to tell yourself.”

“Why is this the first time I’m hearing about you dealing with ghosts?” Amelia squeaks. “I love ghost stories!”

I give both my family members a short glare then reach out and knock on the door, using the old and very ornate knocker that has a gargoyle face on the base.

I don’t really love the idea of coming back here. I’m not sure if a couple days will have been enough for the guys to cool down, but I’m hoping. I have a plan to get Pisces back. Well, half a plan. And I need them to help with the rest of it.

A couple moments pass and no one answers the door.

I knock again, but again nothing.

I turn to Amelia. “What should we do?” I ask, though I don’t really expect anyone to answer. “I guess we can try again later?”

“That’s a good idea. We can grab some breakfast and come back,” Liz offers.

“Breakfast?” Reese asks, squinting at the sun’s downward arch through the sky. It’s around sixty-thirty here in London, but in our time it was almost ten-thirty in the morning. I should feel rested enough, but I didn’t sleep at all last night, too anxious to try to get part of my plan in motion. Liz nods and amends her statement. “Okay, we’ll go have dinner, then try again.”

As we start to descend the stairs, the door creaks open behind us. I whip around and see Niamh standing there. “Hello?” she asks, her voice sounding a bit distrustful. I can see in her eyes when she recognizes us. “What are you doing here?” The accusation in her voice hurts. Not that we’d really become friends exactly, but she is definitely a girl’s girl and I appreciated the support she showed me during the festival.

I take a deep breath and head back up the stairs until I’m standing on the opposite side of the threshold from her. “I need to speak with the guys. About Pisces.” Maybe that last part is obvious, but I’m not sure how much Niamh knows about him being my mate.

She looks over her shoulder. Simon comes to the door. Niamh throws me a look, something between pity and anger, as she leaves me to Simon.

His hair is wet, and I assume he’s just gotten out of the shower. It makes me think of how Pisces hadn’t showered or shaved in the few days they were keeping him stars knew where. I wonder if Grim or Lyra have moved him back to wherever they’d originally been keeping him, now that I’m not there, or if he now has that room to himself. I hope it’s the latter.

“Hey, Simon,” I say, but he doesn’t look pleased to see me.

“Hey.” He dips his head in greeting and thankfully steps aside, motioning for us to come in. I walk through the front door, Reese, Amelia, and Liz following me.

“Any update on Pisces?” I ask. I already know from Liz that she hasn’t heard anything about him being released or transferred, but Evan has more connections than she does, so maybe they have more up-to-date information.

Simon shakes his head. “No, and we could have told you that over the phone,” he replies, letting loose a frustrated sigh. “Sorry. I—” He runs fingers through his wet strands. “I know it’s not your fault. This whole situation is just fucked.”

I nod. “It’s okay. I know I’m the guys’ least favorite person right now. But I wanted to try again, to help. I think I have a plan. If Shaun and Evan could just listen for a little bit, I think we can get Pisces out.”

“They aren’t here.”

Amelia groans. “When are they getting back?”

“Excited to see your mate?” Simon’s lips quirk upwards into an amused smile.

“Yeah, super,” my sister replies, rolling her eyes and plopping herself down on the nearest chair. Simon clocks her movement and nods his head in the direction of the living room we were in last time we were here.